Dordogne flights and travel guide

The Dordogne and the neighbouring Lot valley is one of the most beautiful regions in France, a magnet for food lovers and nature enthusiasts. The area has remained fairly untouched by 20th-century development and tourism and the rural way of life continues very much as it has for centuries. Local farmers seem happy to live a fairly subsistence lifestyle and village markets continue to flourish long after they have disappeared from the high streets of other European countries. This is due, no doubt, to the local taste for fresh ingredients and their disregard for what are regarded as draconian EU health and safety laws.

Although medieval villages and towns such as Conques, Cahors and Montauban are starting to be discovered by tourists looking for a more authentic France, they have managed to retain their old-world charm. Visitors don't come here for a busy nightlife, or indeed for the weather, which can be wet even in summer, but for the stunning countryside, pâté, truffles, succulent Limousin veal and fine wine.

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Dordogne Insider Information

• See primitive cave paintings at Lascaux. The originals were damaged by visitors so replicas of two of the caves have been made at Lascaux 2. Still worth a visit to see the vibrancy and power of the work of our cave ancestors.
• Canoe in the Dordogne, Dronne or Vezere rivers. The canoe company will take you by minibus to the drop off point and you go back to the start (and your car). Go with the flow of the river. Have a picnic and make a day of it.
• Visit the market at Riberac on a Tuesday and Friday. In the summer you can often find night markets (marches nocturne) so you can buy, drink and listen to music in the encroaching darkness.

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Dordogne Airports

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